Hillsborough Oaks doesn’t announce itself with blaring horns and balloons. Instead, it simply evolves, appearing on quiet residential lanes as they head west out of Burlingame. Suddenly, the atmosphere quiets. Thick foliage replaces neatly-trimmed trees and the homes get larger. Hillsborough Oaks, a smaller (population approximately 800, total area of a half-mile square) neighborhood in lower Hillsborough bordering the southern edge of Burlingame’s Easton Addition, is about subtlety and grace. Like Ryan Tract, its next-door neighbor, Hillsborough Oaksbridge has been impressive for so long that there’s no one left to impress.

Also unique is Hillsborough Oaks location, within walking distance of Burlingame’s Broadway downtown neighborhood. Easy access to shopping and dining, El Camino Real and the 101 freeway makes this a neighborhood for pragmatists, something singer/actor Bing Crosby must have considered when he purchased a home on Jackling Drive in the 1960s. Crosby lived in the home until his passing. His widow Kathryn Crosby, continues to live there today. The home was one of five homes featured on the 2010 Hillsborough Centennial Historic Homes Tour.

After a boom year in which its total sales more than doubled, to 16, Hillsborough Oaks sales dropped in 202456% to seven transactions. Price per square foot rose significantly, from $1,431 to $1,669, third-highest in Hillsborough, and average DOM fell by 70%, to 13 (second-lowest in town), meaning that while activity was most definitely down the price reductions are likely the result of changes in inventory rather than a loss of value for the neighborhood.

To view a detailed google map of the Hillsborough Oaks neighborhood, click here.